HTC just began to rollout a software update for its HTC One max which was launched back in fall this year as the first HTC One device with Android 4.3 and HTC Sense 5.5. The software update v1.54.401.1 is said to contain a couple of important enhancements and bug fixes including system improvements for touch responsiveness, SIM card detection, WiFi connection and the general stability. Furthermore is the update featuring a HTC Sense Gallery fix for issues when posting HTC Share to Facebook. Last but not least the update will finally shows a battery status indicator for the HTC Power Flip Case, so far there was no info about the battery status, as well as it's said to improve the charging performance.

Evernote is for sure Microsoft OneNote's strongest competitor and the benefits of Evernote is its device and OS independency. Yesterday evening, Evernote released an Android update which is all about dramatically improving the note creation and editing process on smartphones and tablets. One of the things that makes Evernote so useful is that you can keep everything related to a project - text, images and audio - together in one note. The new Android update lets you not only add attachments, but it also places these files in-line within the note. So you can see everything in the right place as you scroll through. If you are like many Evernote users, then you're creating notes across a variety of platforms.

Right in time for Christmas, HTC is also fulfilling its last promise by starting with the Android 4.3 roll-out for the HTC One mini, which is the last device from the One-series which will finally receive it. Alongside with all the Android 4.3 enhancements, the firmware upgrade also features all the latest and greatest HTC Sense 5.5 enhancements, namely the updated Video Highlights interface and the ability to create longer Video Highlights as well as animated GIFs; BlinkFeed improvements which include additional global news sources, the ability to save articles for later or offline read as well creating custom feeds from RSS feeds. Also part of the update are music improvements which include an updated user interface as well as new scenes.

This was more than about time, this was totally overdue but finally it's coming, if only as a public Beta. As SwiftKey announced today on its blog, it has released a public Beta which brings an exciting new SwiftKey keyboard which delivers some of the most requested features including emoji support for over 500 fun images and an optional number row for those who want quicker access to number keys. Classic emoji allows to choose from more than 500 emoji across five categories: people, objects, nature, places and symbols. Also part of the Beta is emoji word match. As you type one of hundreds of keywords, you can opt to be offered emoji predictions in the candidate bar. For example, typing "Santa" will offer you a Christmas emoji in addition to word predictions.

As expected, today Instagram announced its latest service enhancement called "Instagram Direct", which is said to be a new way to send photo and video messages to friends. Over the past three years, the Instagram community has grown to over 150 million people capturing and sharing moments all around the globe. As Instagram has grown (and was taken-over by Facebook), it has evolved not only into a community of photographers, but also into a means of visual communication. From a photo of the daily coffee (#CoffeeTweet FTW) to a sunrise shared from the top of a mountain hike, every Instagram moment contains something the poster find special - something broadcasted to followers.